


Baby White Fang

by SereneSorrow



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, Kakashi's usual PTSD issues, Third Shinobi War, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-02-27 23:38:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13259007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SereneSorrow/pseuds/SereneSorrow
Summary: Kakashi, the Sixth and final Hokage, was now the last man standing. Listing, stumbling, but still standing. Impossibly, he's given a second chance to stop the Fourth Great Ninja War from ever happening. If he can manage to survive the Third War first, as his own baby brother.......Some Tags/Warnings and the Relationships will change later, I'm not sure what the Relationships will be so for now the beginning of the story is Gen.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't sure between Mature and Explicit for a rating... I thought it was better safe then sorry.  
> Anyway, I know, a LOT of this story is COMPLETELY inaccurate, there are some glaring gaps in my Naruto canon knowledge and I looked up a bunch of stuff on Naruto.wiki but some of it I just didn't like anyway and decided to ignore so just go with it or ignore the obvious inaccuracy, I mean it's obviously an AU anyway that's the whole point! :) So the timeline is different too...  
> Also, I've challenged myself to post SOMETHING (new work, new series, new oneshot, new chapter) every day, so if I don't just give up on this challenge tomorrow then you'll be seeing a lot of various stories with very short chapters.

     An empty battlefield, that was all that was left of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. Friend-killer Kakashi stumbled over yet another familiar faced corpse as he walked ahead of Kaguya's hoards of corpse puppets. They were herding him towards Kaguya, he knew that, but there was nowhere else to go anyway. No reason to try to escape, no refuge he could reach, _and why should he bother trying?_ He was the last man alive, likely in the whole world, _what chance was there that anyone had been able to hide from Kaguya this long?_ Nothing the Allied Shinobi Forces had tried had hidden the refugees, the camps had been ransacked one after another, eventually ninjas were the only survivors left. Until their forces had been whittled down one by one and Kakashi, the Sixth Hokage, had given order after order that had lead to the deaths of every friend and ally he'd had. He shuddered from the horror more than the blood loss as he trudged onward, trying to block out the blank eyes staring up at him, accusing him from all sides for failing to save their world. Guilty and ashamed he turned away from his people and let the puppets lead him to his enemy.

     The dead tree stretched out far enough to block out the moon above but Kaguya's snow white skin and robes glowed in the darkness just as bright as she descended toward him. The gaping slashes in his arms and torso weren't the only blood he was losing, Obito's eye wept at the sight of Kaguya's smile. Arrayed around him her puppets stilled as she approached.

     He felt the last jutsu calling to be activated as he stared her down. It was eating into his chakra already, it had been all throughout the last battle, ever since the seals had been finished. In the strange dream, possibly vision, that Kakashi had experienced they hadn't explained just what this jutsu was supposed to do but it had been clear that it was an end all solution. A last resort if victory or even basic survival was no longer possible. He had painted the seals across his skin himself, in the dark of the tent his comrade's had insisted he keep for himself as their leader even when supplies and shelter were nearly nonexistent. He'd hoped he was fooling himself with fatalist thoughts brought on by the nightmares that plagued him every night and that when the next battle came he would forget the strange dream where he was confronted by Senju Tobirama and a man he'd introduced as one of his ancestors, Ōtsutsuki Asura. That hadn't been the case.

     “The last thief, you are. I'll have my chakra back now child.” Kaguya crooned as she reached him. “All of this world's chakra belongs to me, you've abused my gift long enough, it's time I cared for this power properly again.”

     It was now or never. Kakashi formed the handful of seals as quickly as he could with his blood drenched fingers as Kaguya scoffed.

     “Do you think you have any jutsu left that could harm me? _Me?_ After everything your armies have tried what could you possibly have left that could-”

     Kakashi plunged his crooked fingers into Kaguya's chest as the seals painted across his skin hummed to life, consuming all of his remaining chakra as it blazed out of him and tore into her own chakra. This was his last chance, he had no idea what the seals were meant to acomplish but the twisted look of rage on Kaguya's face as the world went dark around him lightened Kakashi's heart ever so slightly as he surrendered to death. Even if his comrades were waiting in the next life to punish him for his failures he could endure, knowing that in the end he'd struck a real blow against Kaguya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I figure the way I had Kaguya talking is out of character but that's just what came to me as I was writing...  
> ...I just HAVE to share this though, I was actually listening to Happy by Pharrell Williams while I was writing this prologue.... so freaking opposite!!!!! :D Hysterical. I didn't even really notice, I just picked a song that I thought I wouldn't mind hearing and set it on repeat to try to keep from getting distracted away from writing and then after writing the prologue and most of chapter 1 I was like “Wait a minute...how is this working!?!”


	2. Prologue Pt. II

     The world swirled around him, Kaguya's enraged screech followed him into the dimness of the warping space. Kakashi felt as though he was falling, up into the sky to dizzying heights. He fought valiantly against the nausea and the feeling of his blood struggling to race through his veins in the proper direction.

     He could barely think, but one thought he latched onto, Kaguya. _Was she dead? What had happened to her when he cast the jutsu? What was the point of the jutsu if she had survived, if he had survived?_

     His thoughts funneled away as though down a drain and suddenly it seemed as though his entire life was flowing past his eyes as he tumbled through empty violet spaces. So many memories it hurt just to look at, hurt _too_ much to look at, but the aches and pains of his body were receding as he watched his life tick backwards.

     “This is all we can do. Steal enough of her power, now that all the world's chakra is in one place and untouched by the claims of millions of souls, to give you another chance.” The words drifted by in the shadows, and Tobirama's shade seemed to nod to him before vanishing.

     “Just make the best choice that you can, that's all we can ask, because that's all anyone can do.” Asura advised, appearing and disappearing just the same.

     Kakashi's mind ached too much to parse meaning from their words, the visit itself slipping from his mind like sand as time flowed backwards. He saw again all the great horrors he'd never let himself forget, the dead comrades and those he had killed with cold and calculated tactics or vicious revenge fueled rage or ruthless efficiency, and was shocked at how many moments of brief happiness pushed themselves forward.

     It made him feel smaller, it all just made him tired and he felt as though he was shrinking into some tiny creature. He was being unmade by his own life.

     The memories were too excruciating now, his young face staring out at him coldly from a mirror, the way others glanced at him but avoided his gaze. He didn't want to re-experience these memories, these records of his crimes and his failures and his undeserved moments of contentment.

     Kakashi tried to move, wanting only to swim away from the onslaught, but he knew that the struggle would be useless. The resigned man felt his chest constrict and tears prick his eyes as Team Minato was once again complete. Unable to bare the proof of his greatest failures he stared blankly and felt the darkness around him creeping into his mind, eating through his past.

     Furious with himself and feeling all of the weight of his many sins he discarded one memory after another, but out of some twisted desperation that seemingly howled from the very core of his soul there was one memory he latched onto, his father. The certainty that Kakashi had once come to feel that Hatake Sakumo must have made the only choice he could live with, damn the consequences.

     As the memories neared the end that was really the beginning a light shone on one most desperate moment, the first great wound rent in his heart from which all other pain stemmed. There, he wanted to go there.

     He wanted to go to Sakumo.

     Dad.

     Weary eyes closed on an exhausted soul and the universe was torn asunder. The smallest and most hopeful of all the gears in the cosmos, a human life, moved through time.

     There was no light, no fantastical visual affect, no boom of explosions or gust of a storm. One moment the night was silent, the air was still, and the grass was bare. The next, a small bundle was there, where none had been before. In cold dewy grass and a stifling wrap of cloth a small creature squirmed in discomfort and in desperation cried out for a savior.


	3. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments on previous chapters! I enjoy hearing from you! I'm sorry I haven't been able to reply but if it's between answering your comments and writing the next chapter you want the chapter right? :) So here it is!

     Sakumo watched the glint of moonlight shining on the blade of his tanto for a moment as he contemplated his next move. The moon glowed bright enough that he hadn't needed any other source of light, though the shadows stretched long across the room.

     He knew what he had to do. He had made up his mind.

     The village would be safer with shinobi who could follow the rules.

     Kakashi would be better off without his dishonor.

     He turned the blade in his hands toward himself and took a steadying breath as he prepared to follow through with his decision. There would be no going back, no second guessing, and he yearned for it desperately. To no longer be able to change his mind and turn back, to face whatever might come next without chasing after one-sided sentiment that could only be called weakness.

     Another breath and he readied himself, but the blade wavered in his fingers at the sudden shrill cry that split the air. Sakumo's head jerked up as he recognized the sound as a baby crying. It was an out of place sound, the Hatake lands were warded against intruders and anyone passing by would have been too far away for the sound to reach so far inside the house. Unmoving he reached out for the wards but they hummed gently as they always did, giving no indication that they had been breached, yet the child's screams continued. Completely bewildered Sakumo let the tanto dangling from his loose fingers fall to the floor and stood, heading for the nearest path outside to seek out the disturbance.

     Sliding the door open he took a deep breath of the cool evening air. All of the same comforting scents he was used to greeted him, still no sign of any kind of intruder other than the noise. It didn't take more than a moment to orient himself to the sound and begin his approach.

     He crossed the yard from the house toward the sound, glancing around carefully as he moved, wary of possible intruders despite his certainty that a breach without a warning from the wards was impossible. Sakumo wondered briefly if he should return to the house for weapons.

     The next sign of an intruder was the scent of fresh blood in the air, disturbing in that it was familiar and yet not. For a heart-stopping moment Sakumo thought that it was Kakashi's blood but though it was close to his son's scent it wasn't the same. He shook his head for a moment, he must be off his game if he couldn't distinguish an intruder's scent from his own son's. It would be like mistaking one of the Inuzukas for another, an inexcusable error.

     Zeroing in on the source of the sound Sakumo made sure to approach from down wind, keeping to the shadows, staying behind a screen of trees and taking care not to step on any twigs or rustle any leaves. Finally he was within sight of the sound.

     There was a ragged scrap of cloth abandoned on the open ground, from which the crying emanated. As he scanned the surrounding area with all his senses for anyone else the cloth fluttered with movement. He approached and knelt by the bundle and realized it was a long sleeved shirt, covered with bloodied slashes that made the fabric's original color difficult to determine. Working the bloody fabric out of the way revealed an equally bloodstained infant, eyes scrunched closed and occasionally a flailing limb striking out to disturb the cloth it was buried in. Sakumo inspected the boy for injuries quickly but none of the blood seemed to belong to him, at least the child didn't have any bleeding cuts, it must all have come from the shirt. Raising the child in his arms carefully he tried to make out the boy's own scent underneath the blood but his scent too was familiar. Hatake blood, Sakumo couldn't deny that any longer, the child and whoever had worn this blood stained shirt were somehow Hatakes. It shouldn't have been possible, He and Kakashi were the last of their clan, _how could two more Hatake's just stroll right onto their land out of nowhere?_

     The child squirmed in his arms and Sakumo adjusted his hold carefully, pulling the child closer to his chest automatically to keep from dropping him. Suddenly the cries ceased and Sakumo watched with surprise as the boy breathed in his scent and calmed down, immediately relaxing into his hold. He had a sense of disquiet at this reaction, he hadn't held many infants in his life but he'd held his son, and once Kakashi had learned to recognize his scent this was much the same reaction he'd had when Sakumo held him.

     Sakumo didn't know what to do, and besides looking around for whoever had left the boy here _what could he do?_ He shifted slightly to hold the child in one arm and with the other summoned his ninken. The dogs arrived ready for action, he rarely summoned them outside of a fight or flight situation, and the scent of Hatake blood in the air had their hackles raising.

     “Stand down.” He barked out bluntly to get their attention.

     The ninken whirled on him and gathered around, sniffing out the blood and unfamiliar Hatake scents and coming to realize that one of them was an infant. “Boss? You got a new pup?” One of them asked as another inspected the bloodied shirt.

     “He was just left here, there's no sign of anyone and no disturbance in the wards, spread out and search. I want a clue, any clue as to where this child came from, who left him here and where they went.” Sakumo ordered and the dogs all took a turn breathing in the scent on the shirt before the pack dashed away and spread out over the Hatake lands. Bull was the only dog to hold back, still watching the child.

     “He does smell like you.” The insolent young bulldog said.

     Sakumo had to fight not to tremble at that. “I noticed.” Of course he'd noticed, his head was spinning with the realization, the suspicion that someone may have had his child and decided to abandon him. He hadn't been alone since his wife died, and the occasional tryst between missions didn't really lead to prolonged interaction so logistically it was certainly possible that he could have another son and not have been told, but he had on more than one occasion been propositioned for the purpose of expanding the Hatake clan. Even the Hokage had suggested more than once that he remarry and produce more offspring, so as to not leave the burden of the extinction of the Hatake bloodline to Kakashi. Of course his recent disgrace may have something to do with it, he realized bitterly. Whoever the boy's mother was would likely no longer wish to come forward and ask him for marriage if her husband would be one so reviled within the village, _and why keep the burden of caring for the child when she could pass that duty off to him?_ The child's scent clearly proved he was a Hatake, there was no way Sakumo could abandon him, or no way he would. He was pack, family, if Sakumo hadn't been so lost right now his instincts would have already kicked in to defend and care for the boy, instead of crouching out here in the open exposed to attack on all sides.

     “Could use a bath too.” Bull prodded, obviously picking up on Sakumo's distress and confusion. Sakumo shook himself and climbed to his feet, letting the bulldog nose him around and lead him back towards the house.

     Sakumo realized that he had been in a daze, moving on reflex, when he blinked and noticed that he was midway through wiping the blood off of the squirming child's skin. He froze for a moment, still shocked at this whole situation, before continuing the necessary task of cleaning up the boy. Dipping the cloth he'd been holding back into the bowl of water he must have brought out Sakumo rung the bloody water out of the cloth with one hand.

     He brought the cloth back to the boy's skin, and realized that by wiping away some of the blood he'd revealed a number of disturbing scars on the child, most notably a long gash slicing strait down through the baby's left eye. Disturbed, Sakumo wiped carefully around the child's eyes to keep the drying blood from gluing his eyelashes together. A few heartbeats later the boy squinted his eyes open and Sakumo's blood ran cold. He felt as though the blood froze in his veins as three black tomoe swirled in a red eye. Almost immediately the eyes snapped closed again and Sakumo gasped for a breath and tried to still his trembling. Bull headbutted him in the side to prod him to continue washing the child and Sakumo realized that the dog hadn't seen the eye, or he would be as shocked as Sakumo was. Probably a good thing he'd missed it then, or they'd both have been frozen to the spot until Kakashi and Minato arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So about Kakashi still having the Sharingan but only some scars, that's because when he was de-aged well a baby has less surface area of skin than an adult so as the skin shrank the scars got smaller and smaller and a lot of them shrank to nothing so there! Ha! It does too make sense! :P And then when he grows up again the scars won't reappear because it's all new skin again! Ha! It does too make sense!
> 
> Interactive section!: So if Kakashi's name wasn't Kakashi, what would his name be? I just don't know how to choose a name here, I tried looking up names and meanings but I had no idea what to go for and figured I would just end up trying to think back on other manga/anime I know and finding a character that seems sort of like Kakashi and then just use whatever name that character has, and I'm not sure that's the way to go here... but from the list of names I did look up online some of the names I'm considering are: KUNIO meaning "country man"; SATORU meaning "wise, fast learner"; TADASHI meaning "loyal, faithful"; TAKESHI meaning "fierce warrior"; which I got from a random name meanings website that was just the first one that didn't have popups or load slowly, so if you have a name you think is better or you have a vote among these four, please comment because I have absolutely no preference and will probably end up thinking I picked wrong and wanting to change it no matter what I decide on so I would LOVE it if someone took that decision out of my hands. :D
> 
> Question #2: Sakumo's Summons: Okay... I could not figure out if the stuff I've seen in other fanfictions about Sakumo having wolf summons is canon or not or where people came up with that, and also are summons immortal or just regular animals that can talk and use chakra or whatever? I've kind of always thought they were closer to immortal... so I decided to sort of go with that here... and ignore if Sakumo had wolves and use Kakashi's dogs instead... cuz I'd rather get cannon a little wrong than make up original characters when there's already a character that is in that exact place I was trying to fill. But the QUESTION is this: if Sakumo does have different dogs what would their names be, because I can work that in later if you want so give me names otherwise I probably won't bother if no one cares enough to ask for it. So for the time being Bull is the only one who's name is used and I guess the idea would be that Kakashi inherited some of the dogs from Sakumo. I can change that later if you readers are interested in Sakumo having his own dogs, otherwise it's the same Bull from Kakashi's ninken and I'll go with the semi-immortal summons idea.


	4. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after this chapter I think that the chapters will start being shorter like the prologues, I'd mostly written chapters 1 & 2 a couple months ago before I got distracted, so now it will be whatever I can write in about an hour or less on the day that I post as per my 'daily posting' challenge.

     Minato glanced at his companion out of the corner of his eye as they walked through the gate to the smaller residential side of the Hatake compound. Kakashi had been more detached on this most recent mission than usual. He was always focused, determined, but he'd been distant when his other students attempted to converse and he hadn't reacted to much of anything that had happened.

     Next to him Kakashi had tensed suddenly and was sniffing the air. With a frown he glanced into the dark night around them. “What is it?” Minato asked with caution, taking another glance at their surroundings.

     “Blood.” Was all he said as he pulled out a kunai and edged towards the cover of the trees nearby. Minato followed swiftly and positioned himself to cover his student. Kakashi knew his own land best and already had more of a read on the situation than he did himself so Minato would follow his lead until they discovered just what the situation was. They moved onward cautiously, keeping silent for now.

     “The ninken are out.” Kakashi whispered to him as a moment later a bush was disturbed and one of Sakumo's dogs stepped out to meet them.

     Minato kept his attention on the shadows around him, eyes flicking from the small stand of forest they were skirting the edge of to the open spaces farther out and the path back around to the front gate of the property. Kakashi knelt down to greet the dog, one hand out for the ninken to scent, in order to verify that he was really who he appeared to be.

     “There was an intruder but we can't figure out who, or how they got through the wards without triggering anything.” The ninken reported once he was satisfied with their identities.

     Kakashi blinked nervously. “Intruder? The blood smells like-”

     “Sakumo-san's fine, well he seemed out of sorts but he wasn't injured, just taking care of something back at the house. You should probably head inside while we finish sweeping the property.” The ninken suggested with an abrupt indication that he wouldn't be explaining further.

     Kakashi looked like he wanted to join the ninken in their search but Minato stepped in. It might not be his place but he'd more than noticed the strain between Kakashi and his father and this could be an opportunity for the boy to work with his father and maybe be the first step towards repairing their relationship. “Sakumo will be able to give us more information, which you need if you're going to get more involved.” He insisted and his student let out a minute sigh and the smallest shrug of his shoulders before nodding to the dog and standing up again. He avoided Minato's eyes as he set off for the house, clearly aware of Minato's motives and resigned to his sensei's meddling.

     When they arrived the house was still mostly dark and for a second Minato thought that maybe no one was inside but he chided himself a moment later as he knew full well how finely honed Kakashi's senses were. If his father was in the house Kakashi would know so. He followed his student until they found Sakumo with another of the ninken and Minato was immediately concerned. He hadn't had reason to interact with Sakumo more than once or twice since the man's disastrous mission, between training his team and his own missions he'd been busy, but the man's shoulders were slumped and his back was hunched. Kneeling on the floor the man looked exhausted. Sakumo seemed to be staring blankly ahead and didn't immediately respond to their arrival.

     Kakashi was sniffing the air again, still on alert from the suggested intrusion and the contrast was shocking, in comparison to his son's alertness Sakumo looked completely unguarded and vulnerable and that was just from what Minato could see of his back.

     The ninken, a familiar dog that Minato couldn't place the name of at the moment, glanced over his shoulder at them and his tail wagged once. “Good timing Kakashi, Minato-san. Come meet the new pup!”

     Kakashi seemed frozen to the spot and Minato was getting more and more on edge but he did his best to remain aloof and stepped cautiously around the room, being sure to give both of the other ninja's plenty of space until he could face Sakumo directly. The man was holding a bundle of cloth and there were more scraps of fabric on the floor in front of him but both man and ninken's attention was given to the bundle in Sakumo's arms.

     Minato didn't know what he'd been expecting, perhaps he'd known immediately and his mind had tried to excuse his suspicions when the ninken had said 'pup'. He'd almost convinced himself that Sakumo had simply acquired a new ninken puppy but no, that was a human infant he was holding. Minato knelt down in front of Sakumo and glanced aside at the ninken who stared intently now at the calm bundle. The child was mostly covered by cloth but Minato could make out a scar slashing over the left eye.

     Minato looked up over Sakumo's bowed head and met Kakashi's eyes, trying to read the tightly restrained emotions the boy refused to unleash. Panic, shock, incomprehension and doubt were clear to him since he'd been spending so much time with his youngest student, trying to work out how the boy was feeling when Kakashi tried so hard to rid himself of emotions. Now he was struggling to contain himself and even the smallest tells were like screams to his sensei, and Kakashi hadn't even seen the child yet. Though, Minato realized, with Kakashi's enhanced sense of smell he was probably fully aware of what Minato was seeing right now.

     His eyes darted back to Kakashi's father, who had yet to acknowledge their arrival. “Sakumo, report.” Minato ordered. He may not really be in a position to make the demand but from how detached Sakumo was from the world around him he clearly needed the familiar footing of following an order.

     Luckily Sakumo heard the tone of his voice and managed to bring himself back to the world around them at last. “I heard a child crying and was suspicious because no-one should have been that close to the house without setting off the wards. When I stepped outside I caught the scent of blood and went to investigate the source. I checked the wards but there was no disturbance, so all I had to follow was the scent. I realized that the scent was Hatake blood, but not Kakashi's, which explains the wards lack of reaction to an intruder. I found this infant” Sakumo finally met Minato's eyes as he indicated the child “inside that shirt” and Sakumo nodded to the cloth on the ground between them “and covered in blood. Completely covered, like he'd been bathed in it. There was no evidence of anyone walking through the property and dropping him off, he just appeared out of nowhere. It was as though he just fell from the sky. I summoned my ninken to investigate and look for any trails...” Sakumo fell silent and his gaze dropped back to the sleeping child.

     “We brought him inside and cleaned him up, pup's been pretty quiet since he got a good whiff of the Boss's scent.” The ninken added, leaning forward and snuffling another breath of the child himself.

     Kakashi finally managed to bring himself to join them on the floor, eyes scanning over the baby and then quickly darting away and focusing on the bloody shirt. Minato worried about how his student was handling this, especially given his father's example. The behavior of both Hatakes was really worrying him. Kakashi focused on inspecting the fabric and held it up. One sleeve was nearly gone and the rest of the shirt was slashed so many times that Minato was surprised it wasn't in ten pieces. The blood was drying and he thought that he could make out stitches and maybe even a patch in the worn, threadbare material. It wasn't a ninja shirt like the wounds would suggest, but it was a sturdy, durable material that a bandit or a missing-nin might settle for. In a pinch a ninja might make use of whatever they could but a civilian worker's clothes wouldn't be any use as protection in a fight like the one whoever had worn this shirt had experienced. _Had someone been protecting this child and been attacked? Forced to find a safe place to leave the child before escaping their attacker?_ It was unlikely that anyone with wounds matching that shirt would survive without immediate and expert medical care, he needed to alert the hospital to be on the lookout.

     Minato racked his brain for an explanation as to the child's sudden appearance. There had been all those reports of missing children recently... he frowned. _Did this have any relation to that? Were children_ appearing _out of nowhere as well?_ Minato decided to look into reports of abandoned children, he'd have to start looking at orphanages. If this was all being perpetrated by someone he worried over what the purpose of moving children around like this could possibly be.

     “He has scars.” Sakumo put in suddenly. The voluntary input was a little surprising to Minato, after the way Sakumo had been acting so far.

     “I noticed the one on his eye.” Minato nodded in agreement, but waited for Sakumo to continue. Kakashi had glanced back at his father, his gaze then dropping to the child and taking in the deep line cutting through the boy's eye. It looked like the kind of wound that would blind a man.

     “There are more, all over him, but I would say that the eye is the most concerning at the moment.” Sakumo acknowledged. “His left eye is an active sharingan.” It was stated bluntly, and Sakumo had made a point of raising his head finally and meeting Minato's eyes as he spoke to prove how serious he was. At least he was managing to pull himself together the more they spoke.

     Minato hadn't thought that he could be any more shocked by the nights events but that did it. Sakumo, Kakashi and the ninken had all confirmed that the baby was of Hatake blood, and they were all familiar enough with Uchiha scents to know if the boy had Uchiha blood. They hadn't said so, and even if he had been half Uchiha there was no explanation for why or how a baby would have an activated sharingan.

     At a loss for words Minato's gaze darted around the room, as his mind raced. He was trying to formulate the report he would have to give the Hokage of this nights events, and he was starting to wonder if he should wake the man immediately, if some kind of search or a more formal investigation needed to be launched right away. Minato's gaze fell on the discarded tanto in the middle of the room and his features pulled into a frown at the sight. Sakumo noticed the direction of his gaze and he shifted ashamedly and tried to cover his distress as simply rocking the suddenly agitated child.

     Kakashi had leaned closer to the child and the boy had opened his eyes and was staring at Minato's student, for some reason becoming upset at the older boy's proximity. Minato tugged Kakashi back a bit and the red eye flickered over to meet his own as the tomoe spun and the child began crying loudly before both eyes snapped shut again. Sakumo continued trying to comfort the child while they all remained entirely bewildered by the evenings events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interactive Section: So I'm still undecided on what baby Kakashi's name is going to be, I see that some people want 'Sukea' from that being an alias Kakashi used but I feel like since that was a fake person Kakashi came up with it wouldn't be what Sakumo would choose as his second son's name? Plus what if Kakashi or baby Kakashi later on want to use that alias for something, that could be a fun side story or something, so it looks like Satoru is in the lead with Kunio and Tadashi tied for second choice! There are also some new choices that people have suggested so if anyone else wants to vote or suggest other names I would appriciate it, I think the name will come up in either next chapter or the one after that...  
> KUNIO/country man; SATORU/wise, fast learner; TADASHI/loyal, faithful; TAKESHI/fierce warrior; KOMUGI/wheat; WARA/straw; TENDO/divine intervention; KAGEN/chance; TOSHIO/hero; SUKEA/scare; KUWA/hoe; KAMA/Scythe; BOTAN/peony; ENOKI/nettle tree; KUMADE/rake; HANEI/prosper; TENSAI/sugar beet; ATAERU/giving; HAYASHI/forest; SASAKI/help, aid; TANAKA or TSUKUDA/which have to do with rice fields; KUEBIKO/deity of agriculture  
> Some others I've found are: HARUKI/wooded spring; ITSUKI/trees for timber


	5. Chapter 3

     Sakumo didn't like the idea of having Anbu operatives crawling all over the Hatake compound but there wasn't much he could do about it. He'd agreed with Minato that they had to report this mysterious child's arrival to the Hokage immediately and Minato had summoned a toad to deliver the message. The blonde had also sent Kakashi out of the house to get an update from the patrolling ninken as an excuse to speak with Sakumo privately for a moment.

     The blonde had walked right over and picked up the tanto that Sakumo had been trying to ignore, tucking the blade into a drawer and out of sight. “So I don't need to ask what you were doing when the child arrived, it's fairly obvious.” Minato had spoken blandly, he hadn't even seemed angry. The lack of his usual cheerfulness was a stark enough indication of his feelings.

     “Do I need to tell the Hokage about this too or are you going to let me find you someone to talk to?” His bright blue eyes had been determined and Sakumo had swallowed hard, feeling even more ashamed at his weakness than he had before. He'd dropped his gaze from the other ninja and caught sight of that mesmerizing sharingan eye staring up at him. He hadn't answered. He hadn't been able to find the right words to say before the first Anbu had preceded the Hokage into the house.

     _How was he supposed to explain to Minato that this child, this addition to his pack, had made it impossible for him to follow through with what he'd been planning to do?_ This child needed him, and he wasn't going to let anything hurt this boy. He didn't know where the child had come from or why he had just appeared but this was his son. He wasn't going to leave a defenseless infant who needed him. Someone had already abandoned this child once tonight.

     “...and he just appeared out of nowhere?” The Third asked rhetorically, staring at the child who was now seated in a basket with a more comfortable blanket. One of the Anbu had been sent for these and other items to care for a child. The poor man in the owl mask had wound up breaking into a civilian shop and startled a shopkeeper that would be telling stories for years about the awkward conversation they'd had about childcare.

     Sakumo dispelled his wandering thoughts and refocused on the Hokage. He'd explained to the man twice already how he had found the boy, now the Hokage was just puzzling over the event himself.

     “There are only more questions unanswered here, we need to find whoever it was that brought him here. Until whoever it was is found the child will have to be protected, we don't know who was after the boy. It seems unlikely the attacker could pass through your wards or the boy's protector wouldn't have left him here.” The Hokage turned as Kakashi reentered the room with Bull.

     “We still can't find anything more. No trail anywhere, the scents are just in the area you found him.” Kakashi reported as Bull went to sit by the sleeping pup.

     “Look into what about your wards in particular might have allowed this, I'm going to have to explain this to the council.” The Hokage turned to dismiss his Anbu from the compound.

     “They aren't taking him. He's clearly a Hatake, even the Uchiha don't have a claim on him.” Sakumo insisted. He knew the council, they would argue about this for days before coming to a decision but that decision would ultimately be a desire for more information and control of the situation. They could come up with any number of reasons to take the child away from him. Sakumo wouldn't let his son be taken as some kind of curious puzzle to be studied, he was only a baby, one who had been through far too much. It was Sakumo's duty to protect him from this.

     “Well of course,” the Third agreed mildly. “After a medical exam there's no reason to cause him any further distress, he's clearly been though a great ordeal.”

     Sakumo could tell that the man worried about the same dangers the child would be facing from their own village but Sarutobi Hiruzen understood the importance of protecting the children that lived in the Leaf Village. He could trust the man to at least try to mitigate the council's inevitable demands.

     “So what's his name?” The Hokage asked.

     Sakumo blinked, _his name?_

     “The hospital will need something to put on the medical file.” Hiruzen said with a smile at the bewildered Hatake. “Think it over, and bring him in for that exam tomorrow, the sooner we know if he's healthy the better.” The Hokage swept out of the room with his guards, leaving a beaming Minato tossing out suggestions excitedly for the newest member of the Hatake Clan.

     “What about Hayashi? Or Haruki? How about Sasaki?” The blonde offered the still surprised Hatake.

     “Satoru.” Kakashi said from across the room.

     The adults both looked up, honestly surprised that Kakashi would be interested enough to offer a suggestion. Kakashi was crouched closer to the baby now, staring at the boy who had somehow managed to climb out of the basket he had been sleeping in and was now snuggled into Bull's side, one hand tugging on the dog's ear.

     “How did he do that? I thought he was a newborn! Can they even move like that this young?” Minato exclaimed, clearly worried about whether the boy had hurt himself somehow.

     “We don't know how old he is, it would have to have been days at least for that eye...” Sakumo realized, the boy might be months old by now, _how long had he been with whoever had done that to his eye? What else had they done to an_ infant?

     “Still, that is pretty fast, isn't it?” Minato said as he sat down next to his student.

     Kakashi nodded absently, probably not any more knowledgeable than Minato was.

     “Well, I suppose I should get going too.” Minato finally said into the silent but watchful room. “Kakashi, you don't have to come to training while all this is getting sorted out but let me know if you need anything.” The blonde left the same way the Hokage had and Sakumo carefully pulled Satoru away from Bull, despite the boy's weak protests.

     There was really nothing more they could do tonight, so the Hatake's double checked their wards for the thirtieth time that night and went to sleep. Satoru was in his basket in Sakumo's room with Bull vigilantly napping beside him.

     An hour later Sakumo was woken by Satoru crying hysterically and spent half an hour calming the boy. A pattern that repeated several times throughout the night, to the point that Sakumo eventually found himself dozing in a chair while holding Satoru who seemed to only remain calm enough to sleep for the rest of the night in his arms.

     Bull had grumbled something about noisy pups and curled up in a ball under a pile of blankets tossed aside from Sakumo's bed hours ago and Sakumo had been instilled with a rueful kind of energy despite how tired he was. This new purpose in his life was going to be more exhausting than an A-Rank mission, he was surely coming to realize.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interactive Section: So new business: I need ideas for everyday interaction type things these characters can get up to... I think I tend to ignore fluff and character development in favor of advancing the plot which I think is probably a negative in my writing, so if anyone has any ideas for that sort of thing it would be helpful because otherwise I'm worried I might not think of anything and I'll end up time jumping ahead from newly arrived baby Kakashi to kid Kakashi and I feel like there should be more going on in between buuuuut... I can't freaking think of hardly anything... buuuuuut I don't want to rush ahead too fast for anyone who's enjoying the way things are going right now... So if there's anything you want to see like family outings or baby Kakashi's reaction to meeting certain people or whatever let me know! :)
> 
> Also - The name, basically the way I counted the votes it came out to Satoru in the lead by three, then Tadashi, Kunio and Kama.


	6. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ack! I've failed my 'daily post challenge' aww... If you want more details on my various delays in updating then I've decided to start using the 'Bio' space on my profile here to explain, instead of irritating people with an update that's actually an authors note, because that's always disappointing, am I right?

     Kakashi poked his head into the room and took in the sight of the pup wrapped up in blankets and his little basket still guarded by Bull. His little brother's scent was already familiar after less than a day, he recognized it as part of his pack, but he wasn't exactly comfortable with that yet. He knew his father was just as surprised by the pup's sudden arrival as he was so he had no right to judge him for this sudden upheaval to his life but Kakashi didn't like being surprised. Surprises could lead to death.

     His father walked up to the doorway behind him and looked over Kakashi's head at the pup. “The Hokage summoned me, apparently the council meeting didn't go well. I need you to watch him for a while while we sort this out.”

     So that was what the messenger who had arrived just a few minutes ago wanted. Sakumo's quick response to the summons suggested that the situation was urgent, the council must have already started making demands. Kakashi didn't think much of the old men who didn't ever seem to _do anything_ for the village.

     Sakumo didn't smile, the look he gave Kakashi was filled with exhaustion and Kakashi could only nod mutely in agreement to the 'request'. The flash of relief that briefly lit his father's expression eased something in Kakashi's chest just a bit.

     “He shouldn't cause you any trouble... and then later we'll take him to the hospital for that check up.” Sakumo explained hesitantly.

     Kakashi looked up at Sakumo as he spoke then glanced at his new brother and back to his father doubtfully. The number of times he'd been woken up last night to the pup's screaming didn't attest to him being easy to deal with but he couldn't just abandon a young member of his pack so Kakashi nodded in agreement.

     With hesitation Sakumo slowly reached out and patted Kakashi's shoulder before departing for his meeting. The touch was somewhat startling, he'd been avoiding his father so much recently that he'd gotten used to not being touched outside of sparring with his team. When the familiar hand on his shoulder disappeared again Kakashi felt just a little as though he had lost something. He shoved the feeling away, just because they were dealing with this strange new situation right now didn't change the way he felt about his father, _did it?_

     Kakashi looked back into the room and sighed heavily. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now. _How close did he need to be to watch Satoru? In the same room?_ Or was Bull enough to watch him from here and Kakashi could go outside for some light training, since he was missing training with his team today. _Bull could always call out to him, he'd have the ninken right?_ If he was really needed though he'd be needed closer than that. He couldn't train inside, there wasn't much he could do sitting around in the hall or even in his father's room, _but would he wake Satoru up if he moved him to another room?_ If he started screaming again Kakashi thought he might go mad. Frustrated Kakashi left Bull to his staring contest with the sleeping baby and went back to his room to grab the book he'd been studying. It was of course the minute that he'd gotten comfortable and started to read that Satoru woke again.

     With an irritated growl Kakashi tossed the book aside and it landed with a clap against the floor. Bull looked over at him from where he'd started rocking the basket with one paw. “Well he won't go back to sleep if you're being noisy.”

     “He's gotten as much sleep as the rest of us did last night. He can deal with being awake now.” Kakashi knew it wasn't the kid's _fault_ that he'd kept Kakashi awake, he understood that a baby wasn't irritating on _purpose_ but he still couldn't help feeling irritated. He crouched over the basket and nudged Satoru's cheek with one finger.

     Suddenly the pup's mismatched eyes snapped open and Kakashi's eyes were drawn strait to the Sharingan in his left eye. The red eye seemed to dig into him and for a moment Kakashi was frozen until the eyes squeezed shut again in an instant and the pup started screaming again.

     Shaking himself Kakashi managed to pull himself together after what he considered to be a surprisingly strong reaction to having the sharingan entirely focused on himself. With all his squirming Satoru had managed to pull his arms out of where they were wrapped up in the blanket.

     “What are you complaining about anyway? Bad dream? Hungry? How am I supposed to know?” Kakashi asked, biting his lip as he hesitantly poked his brother's cheek again. One of those small hands suddenly grabbed the offending finger and squeezed tightly as Satoru pushed Kakashi's hand away from his face.

     “So I'm irritating you? Speak up little brother.” Kakashi joked now that he was feeling calmer again and earned an oddly disproving look from Bull as he tried not to show how strangely calm he felt with Satoru holding onto him. He doubted that he was fooling Bull even for a second.

     “Maybe you should hold him.” Bull suggested. At Kakashi's disbelieving look Bull shrugged. “It worked for Sakumo. You should get him used to your scent too.”

     Nervously Kakashi disentangled his finger from Satoru's grip and plucked him from the basket, being careful and holding his brother in his lap he wasn't really sure what he was supposed to do, so he just held Satoru the way he'd seen his dad hold him, keeping the boys nose near his own chest so that the air he was breathing was full of Kakashi's scent. Satoru caught the scent but he started squirming around and flailing his arms again and Kakashi had trouble holding onto him.

     “Are you sure he wouldn't like you better? He did last night.” Kakashi suggested to Bull who didn't fall for Kakashi's trap.

     Frustrated, Kakashi set his brother on the floor between himself and the ninken where Satoru immediately stopped both squirming and crying. Kakashi didn't understand his new brother at all. Satoru crawled to his hands and knees and breathed in like he was trying to sniff the air but it looked like he couldn't quite make his facial muscles work that way yet. His eyes were still tightly closed and to Kakashi it honestly looked like Satoru was testing himself, to see if he could figure things out by scent instead of sight.

    Smart, that he'd already figured that out, if that's what he was doing. The sharingan eye was probably exceedingly confusing for a baby, which was why Satoru was reflexively keeping his eyes closed. So he was only opening them when he had to confirm what or who was around him, but even that was taxing on both the pup's chakra and his mind. _How did a child that had no context for understanding what he was seeing process such vivid detail permanently etched on his mind?_ So he wanted to find a different way to process his surroundings and identify the people that were near him and the Hatake clan's next strongest sense was smell.

     Satoru's head turned back and forth, between Kakashi and Bull, stopping each time as he tried to identify each of them. He really was smart, and Kakashi suddenly had the odd thought that he was _proud_ of his little brother. He was already solving his own problems, and though Kakashi wasn't exactly sure just how old Satoru was, he knew that immediately seeing a baby appear out of nowhere had made him think he must be brand new but Kakashi realized that he was probably a bit older than he'd first thought for him to have been through everything they could see he'd been through. Whatever surgery he'd been put through to get that eye and for the scar over that same eye to heal had to have taken time.

     Idly at first Kakashi mused on whether he could have come from outside the village. It didn't seem very likely, first the difficulty of getting into the village without notice, which would have had to be the case given everything they'd learned last night. Then how likely was it that someone outside their village would have an extra sharingan to possibly just throw away on what had to be a strange experiment when any enemy or rival village would want that eye in the head of a skilled and loyal ninja. Kakashi felt a shiver of horror at the realization that someone in the Leaf Village was the most likely one to be responsible for this.

     The dark direction of his thoughts was redirected suddenly when a small hand clapped down on his knee. Kakashi blinked and refocused on the room around him as Satoru climbed clumsily into his lap and pulled on his shirt as he inhaled Kakashi's scent. Satoru's face was buried in his chest and Kakashi put his arms out around the small and vulnerable boy to make sure that he didn't tumble backwards to the floor. Kakashi had to hold himself back from crushing the pup to his chest protectively as his mind raced over how anyone in the Leaf Village could do this. He wasn't naive, there was darkness even in this village where happiness and camaraderie were promoted so heavily, but this was a _baby_ , who would cut out an _infant's_ eye?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interactive Section: So I'm still looking for ideas about friends and family bonding and stuff for Satoru and Kakashi and everybody to get up to, of the comments from last chapter there have been some good ideas, and a few that are similar/the same as the few ideas I had come up with so YAY! So I will definitely be trying to work most of those into the story in the next couple chapters but if you have any more thoughts there's still time! :)


	7. Chapter 5

     Kakashi's thoughts were circling dark territory. He needed to find a way to clear his mind. Looking down at the vulnerable pup in his arms Kakashi's heart lurched at the thought that he was insufficiently protected here in his own home. He had to do something, any attempts to harm or abduct Satoru would come sooner rather than later, especially now that the council was involved. Anyone who wanted Satoru would surely try to get him before any official decisions and announcements were made.

     He was giving all of this too much thought. There was nothing he could do with wild speculations and he didn't have much evidence to go on. All he was doing was worrying himself over things that might not even be true. He needed to calm down, he could share his concerns with his dad and find out if the council meeting had revealed any information that would suggest someone inside their own village was behind any of this, but until his father returned there was nothing he could do but worry himself in circles. He needed to find something else to take his mind off of this.

     What he really wanted to do was train, even having to deal with Obito would be better than fighting with this sense of dread. Besides, he realized suddenly, someone had already gotten through their wards once. If whoever had left Satoru here in the first place hadn't felt that it was safe enough for them to stay as well then they must have feared that whoever had been pursuing them might get through the wards too and they had kept moving, probably hoping to lead any pursuing enemies away from Satoru. If there was still any chance that someone could get through their wards and try to get to Satoru then just having Kakashi and Bull here likely wouldn't be enough to protect his little brother, and there was no telling just when dad would be back, even if he'd thought to be back from the meeting with the Hokage before too long, surely discussing matters that the council had brought up could take much more than a few minutes. Especially if it was so urgent that the Hokage had summoned Sakumo right away. Which meant that Satoru might be in danger even right now and Kakashi might not be enough to keep his little brother safe!

     “You're getting upset.” Bull said, nudging Kakashi with his head.

     “If they could get through the wards once they could do it again and the sooner that anyone who wants him gets him the better for them.” Kakashi said in a rush to the nindog.

     “So what are you thinking?” The nindog asked with a head tilt.

     “Minato-sensei is strong and already knows about him. I also know he'll be at our usual training grounds, so we won't have to go looking everywhere for him.”

     Bull looked at him skeptically. “You want to cross more than half the village with a potential target just to get to a possible protector on the chance that your current location is no longer secure?”

     Kakashi tilted his head in consideration. “Well then if people see that he exists and belongs here then that's more people who will fight to keep him here, safely where he belongs with his family, but no.” Kakashi discarded the idea after all. “I'm going to shunshin. We'll be right there in no time. I just” Kakashi looked away from Bull, feeling a bit embarrassed. “might need some of your chakra, I haven't taken anyone along before.”

     “I don't know, Sakumo-san shouldn't be gone that much longer.” Bull hedged.

     “The others never did find anything did they? We don't know who, how many _or_ their capabilities. We shouldn't take chances. Someone capable and trustworthy should be with him at all times.” Kakashi said, trying to work out if he could put Satoru back inside the basket and bring the whole thing somehow.

     Bull's paw shot out and tapped him twice on the forehead. “Down boy. We get it, you're a good big brother. No need to be so paranoid.”

     Startled by Bull's strange words Kakashi felt he had to defend his actions. “I'm not being paranoid! I'm-”

     At that moment they were interrupted by a bird cawing for attention from somewhere near the front of the house. Boy and dog both tilted their heads in the direction of the sound before going to see what the messenger bird wanted since Sakumo wasn't here.

     Reading the note Kakashi repeated it out loud to Bull, who listened intently to the explanation of Sakumo being delayed at the impromptu council meeting for an unknown but likely extended period of time. When he was done Kakashi narrowed his eyes in a glare at Bull.

     “Well, I'm paranoid _now_ , who knows how long he'll be gone! Besides, once were with Minato-sensei it's not like anything bad can happen.” Kakashi said in what Bull considered was an uncharacteristic display of childish faith, something that Bull decided it would be good of him to encourage, even if he didn't necessarily agree with the rest of the older pup's plan.

     The nindog huffed out a breath that almost sounded like a bark before speaking. “I'll follow you then... my orders were to guard him, not keep him in the house.”

     Kakashi's lips quirked behind his scarf as he gazed fondly at the nindog, unaware of Bull's thoughts.

     The sudden, though very light, impact of Satoru headbutting his shoulder had Kakashi observing his little brother through narrowly squinted eyes. Satoru's head tilted back to look up at him even though his eyes remained closed.

     “What?” Kakashi asked, not sure but all the same _sure_ that Satoru was trying to communicate something to him. Kakashi glanced aside at Bull, but didn't see any greater understanding in the nindog's eyes.

     Satoru's eyes scrunched up, in what would have been his own squinting gaze if his eyes were open, and then thumped his head into Kakashi's shoulder again. His head stayed against Kakashi's shoulder and Satoru angled his face up towards Kakashi, opening his eyes again. Opening one eye at least, Kakashi realized, as Satoru had kept the left side of his face and therefore his left eye pressed against Kakashi's shoulder. Keeping the sharingan eye both closed and hidden.

     Kakashi was startled to realize that of course if he was taking Satoru out elsewhere in the village he should try to hide the sharingan, for many reasons. The council was arguing over Satoru, and likely his eye, right now. Any of the shinobi around the village would want an explanation if they caught sight of Satoru's eye, and most obviously running into any members of the Uchiha clan would definitely be a problem. He should have thought of that immediately, heck, Obito would be at their team's training grounds and of course he would demand to know what was going on if he saw Satoru had a sharingan!

     Kakashi put Satoru back into his basket and carried it over to his own room silently as he contemplated whether his baby brother was even more of a genius than he himself was. _Did he actually listen to and understand the entire conversation that had gone on over his head between Kakashi and Bull?_ _Did Satoru really just suggest to Kakashi that he should cover Satoru's eye if they were going outside?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww, no Interactive Section this time... :(  
> :D anyway, sorry this took so long, I thought it was nearly done but then I realized I wound up with three different half written versions of the same events, so I had to shuffle them together into one complete chapter, and I couldn't decide which version of events to go with for a while. Which is also why this chapter isn't longer, because I split it in half. the next part is hardly written at all and I wanted to get something posted instead of delaying this even longer!


	8. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knooooow, I've been gone foreeeeeeever! So, I'm not at all satisfied with this chapter, I kinda left it only half done? but It's been this way it is since like, at least last October, so I just want to MOVE ON already! I'm tired of being stuck here! Maybe eventually I'll come back and add in more or something... Anyways, the next chapter is also half done, I've been stuck on that one too :P (I'm going crazy! WHYYYYYYY!) Also been working on an outline for this story which is ALSO not done -.-' I don't even know at this point.

     Sakumo had barely had time to send a message to Kakashi, with one of the Hokage's birds, before the meeting resumed. The recess had only been afforded by the necessity of allowing the Clan Council to join the discussion. As he hurried down the hallway Sakumo worried over the words exchanged when he had joined the Hokage in meeting with only the Elders' Council. He'd been right, the council who advised the Hokage had debated the situation all night, and had yet to agree on any decision.

     Sarutobi had hoped that they could keep the matter to his three advisors for now but when it had become clear that none of the three were willing to concede on the point of Sakumo keeping Satoru the only choice they had was to get the clans involved. Enough of them would understand that clan matters were to be resolved within the clan that even ambition and suspicion wouldn't override their votes. The Inuzuka would certainly put pack first, and the Hyuuga would know better than to suggest handing over a member of one's own clan to the interference of outsiders, they would never dare to set a precedent that might be used against them later. Usually he would say the same of the Uchiha, but as one of the most significant concerns was that Satoru possessed one of their prized sharingan eyes they would certainly be nearly as obsessed as councilor Shimura Danzo was to get to the truth. As well they might even claim some right to Satoru themselves, or at least some say in what might happen regarding his eye.

     Sakumo knew he couldn't let them take his son away from him, no matter what he had to do to avoid that outcome, and despite his current standing in the village surely the clans would be on his side in that decision. _No matter how they might feel about him at the moment they would surely remain aware that this was the life of an infant that they were arguing over?_ Sakumo sighed to himself. Then again, this was politics, the strangest things could cloud someone's judgement in settings such as this.

     Stepping into the larger chamber where the Clan Council was assembling, they'd started out in a much smaller meeting room when it had been only the five of them, Sakumo avoided eye contact with more clan leaders than he would have liked to admit. The weight of his disgrace fell heavily and he shifted his shoulders as he worried about their possible stares, given how many people had made their feelings about him known recently.

     Villagers often forgot just how many people were involved with the Clan Council, assuming that only the clans with famous dōjutsu and powerful signature clan techniques were allowed to participate, but while their flash did overshadow much else in the village one had to remember that they were a minority. There were far more clans that had kept to the shadows or whose fame, or infamy, had waned. There were also newer clans that had formed since the founding of the village and had yet to really display a unique talent or a flashy style, to the point of even the majority of their own village being largely unaware of their presence but after all the village was founded by ninja clans.

     During the clan wars each clan had to have been capable of trading for supplies and building and repairing homes and defenses. Things like restaurants and clothing shops had sprung up in the village long before any civilians had moved in and while these less eye catching clans had certainly not been free of their own feuds and dramas they had been largely obscured by things like continued tension between the Senju and Uchiha. While certainly some of the famous clans were the most vocal in meetings like this others such as Aburame and Akimichi generally hung back and simply cast their votes once all had been said.

     As he made his way to his own seat, near the Hokage temporarily as he was (by proxy) the focus of this meeting, Sakumo avoided the gazes of clans such as Shimizu the poison spitters, Nekomori the partners of nin-cats, and Nishimura the diligent all-rounders. Nearly as soon as he was seated, just after the last few clan heads rushed in and took their seats, the Hokage called the meeting to begin. As Sarutobi summarized the situation of how Satoru was found, his unexplained origins as well as what Sakumo thought was the reluctant admission of the detail that Satoru possessed an active sharingan, Sakumo did his best not to flinch or look away from incredulous and angry glares and outbursts sent his way or just vented to the room in general.

     “Clearly the boy needs to be studied, someone was responsible for this and they couldn't possibly have left no trace of themselves in their work.” Danzo insisted over the continued speculation occurring around the room even after the initial uproar had died down.

     “While every avenue of inquiry should indeed be explored we cannot forget that this is a very young child who certainly needs our protection, while there could be something learned from a more in depth examination of him we must remember that he is a victim in all this. An infant used without any kind of consent is certainly not an enemy and it seems foolish to treat him as such going forward in our search for answers.” The Hokage countered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmm. so you may have noticed the OC clans in the meeting, those were difficult to make up, I have this thing about OC's in my work, it's like, if I wanted to write about OC's I'd be writing original fictions, duh~ but OC's can be fun to read if done well so I TRIED and here's some info about them:
> 
> Nekomori clan (cat | forest): clan markings are blue? Triangles at the outside corners of the eyes, like fancy eye makeup to look like a cat mask, clan is like the Inuzuka but with cats instead of dogs... they have nincat partners, lots of ninjas with cats sleeping over their shoulders being all lazy and superior :D
> 
> Shimizu clan (pure water): name is opposite really, poison masters who bleed poison and think of poison as pure and water as poison, Orochimaru was fascinated by them for a while...
> 
> Nishimura clan (west village): a clan who lives in the west area of the leaf village, and came to the leaf village from another small village to the west of the leaf village. One of the most bland/normal clans ever, nothing special about them just diligent all-rounders. No single hair or eye color to distinguish them either.


End file.
